Rehabbing YOUR Shoulder!

Rehabbing YOUR Shoulder!

There could be a million reasons for shoulder pain and getting to the root cause is a learned skill. Let’s start with a simple, and very common issue.

Scenario: Mr Pecs 2012 is getting severe shoulder pain bench pressing 1000KG for the 4^th time that week. Shock!

                            

Now lets start with the basic info. If you train a muscle more than its opposing group (i.e. chest and back), it will cause an imbalance & create a change in joint angles. This changes posture & causes pain as that joint isn’t where it’s supposed to be.

Getting slightly more technical…

Most of these cases will involve some form of Thoracic Kyphosis/flexion of the middle to upper spine. Thoracic flexion will shift that shoulder joint out of position, impinge the joint and cause pain. So you can do all the back training you want, pound the resistance bands and train your Rotator Cuffs until you turn blue…. But it won’t help, until you correct the Thoracic Kyphosis which is protracting the shoulder and causing the pain

To Rehab your Shoulder, you need:

1. Thoracic Extension
2. Condition the scapular retractors
3. Which you do through CLOSED CHAIN UPPER EXTREMITY EXERCISES……BOOM!

A closed chain movement is one in which you can’t overcome the resistance of something. An Open Chain movement is when you can overcome the resistance of something. So during a press up, you can’t push the ground away from you, you push away from the ground. That’s a closed chain movement. Walking is closed chain as you push away from the ground with your legs.

• So is the bench press Open or Closed Chain??

Yes, you were correct! It’s Open Chain as you are overcoming the resistance

Are internal/external arm movements with the dyna-band Open or Closed Chain?

• Correct again (wow you’re a natural), it’s an Open Chain movement ….. And that’s the problem with it!

WARNING, BIG WORDS: During a Closed Chain movement the distal section of a joint is fixed and the proximal section is moving. Distal is the section furthest away from the body and proximal is the closest section, i.e. when you walk the bottom bit of your thigh bone (femur) is fixed, whilst the top of it moves of the bottom bit.

This is so important for shoulder rehab as if the proximal section is working, you will be conditioning the scapular retractors, which helps to stabilise the scapula, which in turn will give it extra mobility and help the healing process speed right up.

Examples of good exercises for this are;

1. Press Ups
2. Swiss Ball Jacknife
3. Planks
4. Horsestance
5. 4 Point TVA Activation
6. Chin Ups
7. Scapjacks

Using the resistance bands to rehab the shoulder DOES NOT work. You need stability of the joint, to gain mobility. Resistance bands try and gain mobility first without the joint being stabile.

Now I do have a specific way of doing the above exercises to help the shoulder even further which I’ll post tomorrow (you lucky people!)

There are tons of reasons for shoulder pain, but if you’ve been suffering, you’ve started treatment and you’re looking to start exercising with it again, start with CLOSED CHAIN UPPER EXTREMITY MOVEMENTS.

B